1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of indoor environmental conditioning systems for spaces, such as HVAC systems for residences and commercial spaces. In particular, the present invention relates to such indoor environmental conditioning systems in which each room or other subdivision of the space is provided with its own separate supply of direct indoor environmental conditioning, as well as its own temperature sensor/thermostat.
2. The Prior Art
In indoor environmental conditioning systems for spaces, such as HVAC systems for residences and commercial spaces, each room or other subdivision of space is often provided with its own temperature sensor, which may report temperatures in that room or space, to a master controller linked to and controlling the operations of the furnace/blower/air conditioner unit/etc.
In those indoor environmental conditioning systems which are divided into zones, but running off of a common furnace/heat pump/air conditioner/etc., each room or space may be provided with its own thermostat, instead of merely a temperature sensor. In addition, in systems which, for example, employ forced air circulation, each space may be provided with its own ducting and movable dampers for regulating the flow of air into the space.
One problem which may arise in the installation of such indoor environmental conditioning systems, is that the coordination between the sensor/thermostat, and any dampers or other equipment which are provided on a room-to-room or space-by-space basis, can be difficult to ensure, especially in applications in which the number of separate spaces being conditioned is large, as in a large commercial setting, or in an apartment building. If the right sensor/thermostat is not functionally linked, in the overall system control, with the corresponding supporting equipment (such as dampers, etc.) and identified with the correct space, then not only is the actual operation and efficiency of the indoor environmental conditioning system compromised, leading to possible shut-down or damage to the system, but even such aspects as bookkeeping, occupancy and maintenance issues may be affected.
A typical example of a miscoordination problem would be the simple mixup in connections, at a master controller, often situated at a furnace, of the assignments of sensor inputs and dampers or other outputs to spaces other than those which are appropriate--for example, connecting the sensor lead for Room A into the input at the master controller for the sensor lead from Room B, and vice versa.
There exist, in the prior art, indoor environmental conditioning control systems which have been provided which enable an indoor environmental conditioning system to reconfigure itself, upon detection of an apparent fault or defect in a portion of its operating structure. An example of such a reconfiguring system is found in Baldwin et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,276,630. For example, if a thermostat fails and proceeds to report clearly inappropriate calls for heating or cooling, then, upon providing the control system with a set of initial parameters, the control system can recognize behavior characteristic of equipment failure, and essentially remove the faulty thermostat readings from its active inputs. Default operating procedures (minimum heating, etc.) are activated, until such time as a return to appropriate operation is detected by the controller or the controller is reset.
However, the control system of the Baldwin et al. reference has no provision for preventing or correcting for, at the outset, such misassignment of connections as previously described. Indeed, such a misassignment, under some circumstances, might not be detected for extended periods of time.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide an indoor environmental conditioning system which has the capacity to facilitate the double-checking and correction or reconfiguration of its operational set-up, and in particular, the coordination of such items as space or room assignments for sensors, thermostats, and controls for the operation of movable dampers and the like, or even to self-check and correct its set-up, so as to ensure that the electromechanical set-up of the indoor environmental conditioning system, at least upon initial installation, is correct and complete.